MICHAEL McDERMOTT - OUT FROM UNDER​

2018 - Pauper Sky Records

Michael McDermott is probably the best singer songwriter of the 21st century so far and was certainly no 'slouch' in the 20th, and yet in some ways I was dreading hearing this new album 'Out from under.' Why? The simple reason is that I knew, having raved about his previous recording back in 2016, the mighty 'Willow Springs,' not only my album of the year but also quite possibly 'album of the decade,' that it was likely to be seen as his defining album and as such impossible to follow. So, was I right? To be completely honest, I don't know! I've followed Michael's career for many years and even on his so called 'lesser' albums there was always something going on that could be related to, thanks to his ability to take powerfully lyrical looks at the everyday lives of the generally but not exclusively so, downtrodden. His 'Westies' albums, made with wife Heather Horton seemed to get deeper and darker than what had gone before. Of course, we now know that he was in the early stages of recovery from drug and alcohol addiction and as a consequence knew that darkness well. When the astounding 'Willow Springs' came along I was shocked at the extreme contrasts in the lyrics that generally veered between the deepest darkness and bright light; if you like, from deep horror to unreserved love with nothing in between. From Michael we now know that he was pushing the darkness back because the light he could see, wife Heather and daughter Rain, were the more appealing resolution to that most difficult of fights. Everyone now knows that addiction doesn't just get ground into the dust, never to be the oppressor again; it is a fight that has to be fought for the rest of the 'recovering addicts' life. In listening to the eleven songs on 'Out from Under,' it becomes apparent that whilst this album contains extremes there is balance flowing through the lyrical content that was not there before. It is stylistically and musically varied, with several 'almost' easy going songs that create variety in the emotional content rather than just the extremes. Of course nothing is ever that simple on a Michael McDermott album; the most extreme song is probably the darkest he, or anyone else for that matter, has ever written and in all probability ever will write. Even the album title, 'Out from under' leads me to feel optimistic that perhaps he is really winning his battles as opposed to still struggling to get some semblance of balance in his life . The musical world that Michael has built over the last few albums, including those created with wife Heather as 'The Westies,' has been deep and so incredibly dark that the old kitchen sink dramas of the 1950s and 60s, the only real comparison we have in the UK, look decidedly upbeat and full of optimism compared to much of the darkness that has enshrouded Michaels life until recent years. The man would have been a fool not to have used those dark times as material for his music, having paid a price that fortunately stopped short of his leaving this mortal coil, and he is a very long way from being a fool. Some will say he was foolish to have fallen so far but as is the case with other huge talents, many of whom never overcame their demons, he was young, talented, had a record contract and most of what a young man could wish for but because he didn't quite click with the public or perhaps the promotion was wrong back then the fall was long and drawn out leading to an immersion in alcohol and drugs. Yes, I know, we've heard it all before about the music 'legends' Hendrix, Morrison and many others both before and since, problems brought on by both the extremes of so called success and failure. The trick is turning all of that into something positive and now as a father and husband that is exactly what Michael has been doing and continues to do with his music and life in general. This album and its predecessor were both recorded in his home studio, Pauper Sky, in Willow Springs, Illinois. As well as lead vocals, Michael played guitars, bass, piano, and keyboards whilst also producing the recording, using guest musicians and band members, some of whom made it to his studio whilst others contributed remotely, to add further colour to the sound whilst his wife, Heather Lynne Horton, whose album I reviewed last year, sang backup vocals and played fiddle. And so to the album opener Cal-Sag Road, a song that has a strange haunting intro that leads us into this darkest of dark songs. It is almost as if Michael has challenged himself to write a contemporary song that no one else could possibly have written whilst at the same time leaving the old murder ballad authors in the shade. Michaels vocal helps create the deep gloomy atmosphere but at the same time creates a word picture of what starts out as a dark, sordid world and then rapidly plunges downhill, becoming a double 'murder ballad.' There are very few who would even consider writing a song of this nature and even fewer who could have done so, perhaps just one, and whilst those lyrics are what will grab people the instrumental arrangement is tremendous. Although Michael is not a double murderer the world the man and the girls inhabit was a world he knew very well and indeed inhabited for many years. That is what gives him the edge in his darkest songs; you just know that he knows what he is talking about and the fact that he is happy to do so helps towards his redemption and recovery. On Gotta go to work things lighten considerably on this easy on the ear tale that is driven by the lovely sound of the dobro and banjo, sounding like they are allied to a musical saw, although it's probably a steel guitar, with a mandolin intervening at times on a song that contains a little lightness, despite the stress and depression felt by the subject on a tale of frustration at the way life is panning out just to achieve survival, something that many will relate strongly to. When I wrote 'lightness' that was just a feeling I got having just listened to the first track, the same would have applied if this had been a sad old murder ballad after that song, so in saying 'lightness' it has to be tempered by what has gone before!! As the tale of a 'working man' and with the above instrumentation it is a song that could easily be snapped up by Nashville's finest and become a hit as a 'contemporary country song,' not something I would normally associate with Michael McDermott but it is a powerful song that puts most 'working man' country songs in the deep shade. Chiming guitar and piano get This world will break your heart, a beautiful sad ballad off to a start with Michaels raw evocative vocal perfectly projecting the story that skips from one sad element to another almost over emphasizing the sadness were it not for the fact the events are not mere exaggeration but are scenes from the lives of ordinary people. Towards the end of the song a little positivity creeps in to give a razors edge balance although the lyrics proclaim what we all know, sometimes those sad events are so unremittingly sad that there is just no way up and we either just 'get on with it' or adopt the alternative that doesn't really bear consideration. On Celtic Sea a gentle acoustic guitar and fiddle intro lead to Michaels vocal before the song takes off with keyboards, jangling guitar and the dynamic thudding percussion on another excellent composition on which he is grateful for what he has in terms of love, something that is reflected in the uplifting musicality. Never going down again is a pumping thudding rocker with chiming guitars and an excellent arrangement that quite possibly sums up where he is now in terms of life's battles. Flatly refusing to 'go down again' but not resting on his laurels despite having enough confidence in his ability to stay on the straight and narrow. I still don't know long term how this album stacks up alongside 'Willow Springs;' only time will tell but it occurs to me that it doesn't really matter; any comparisons being utterly pointless. Both albums are great albums in their own right; it is when you add the open hearted darkness and the gradual balancing of emotions of the lyrics that both take off into the stratosphere, ensuring that by any standards both are the work of a supremely talented singer songwriter. I usually just enjoy an album without any deep thoughts of its effect on me but these last two Michael McDermott albums are not only intensely personal for him but also for different reasons for me, as I suspect, they will be for most people who hear them. I don't imagine that Michael McDermott could or would wish for more than that!